Dolphins

The sun was kissing the sea good night for the day, the sky with a bright orange tinge of the setting sun. Somehow, Izzy felt the whole universe was mimicking her mood. The bright sunny days that once used to colour her whole life was turning into darkness like the night. The flaming sky and the pitch black night were all metaphors of her life at this point.

Izzy was walking down the stretch of beach she was so familiar with. The cool evening breeze swept a strand of hair back from her face as she stopped to take in the whole view of the setting sun. The sand between her toes and under her feet, the smell of the ocean, the sound of the waves crashing, it all brought back memories in her mind that she wanted to hold on to so badly. But what she wanted to see more than anything was the dolphins that on rare occasions jump out of the water. Those dolphins symbolized the part of her past she so desperately wanted to remember.

The last time Izzy was here, he was with her. It was a warm January evening. He had taken her out on a romantic evening in the beach. They walked along the beach hand in hand, talking and laughing about trivial things. They walked for half an hour until they reached a rocky part of the beach with a beautiful view of the untamed sea. They sat down on the beach. Izzy rested her head on his shoulder and he put an arm around her, protecting her. She didn’t know why, but she always felt safe with him by her side. For a moment she didn’t speak anything. She enjoyed the serenity of the sea coupled with the rhythmic sound of him breathing. She suddenly looked up into his eyes; they were warm and filled with love for her. At that moment she knew she loved him and wanted to spend the rest of her life with him.

Izzy wanted to tell everything about her life to him. She wanted him to know every fiber of her being. But she was afraid. What if he did not like her after she opened up to him? She looked into his eyes again, to those beautiful eyes and she knew that it was a risk she was willing to take. She talked about her downfalls and the things life taught her, her complexes, her dislikes, her likes, the people who meant the world to her and she cried in front of him. It was a magical feeling. She felt lighter in her mind with all the pent up emotions spilled out. But there was a sense of fear in her mind of loosing him. He smiled down at her and said “I Love you Isabel John. Thank you for trusting in me and sharing this with me. It means a lot to me. This makes me feel that I am an important part of your life. “ Izzy brightened up and hugged him and whispered “I Love you too” into his ears. He opened up to her as well. He told her every little detail about his life. After he was done talking, they just stared out into the azure sea and the setting sun and silently took it all in, his arms still around her and her head comfortable on his shoulders. Suddenly, a pair of dolphins surfaced from the sea. Jumping and bobbing around in the water. Izzy saw them first and pointed it out to him. They watched with awe together as the two dolphins splashed around in the water and after a few seconds, disappeared. Izzy was excitedly jumping on her seats and said “It’s the first time in my life I am seeing a dolphin. I never had the luck to see them.” And he said “even I have never seen dolphins before. But today, with you by my side, I am witnessing this beautiful scene which will be etched into my mind.” She smiled and she knew that it was a special sign, a sign from the Almighty. She felt as if she had his blessing with her. She wanted to freeze that moment forever if she could. That day was the beginning of a new chapter in her life. She knew that somehow, he was meant to be in her life. And all the events that transpired that day were proof enough for her- her miracle.

Now, two years later, she is standing in the beach, alone and reminiscing about the past. She couldn’t stop the drop of tear that rolled down her cheeks. Izzy thought about the cruel irony of her situation. She grew up thinking every story had its happy ending and hers was just around the corner. But she never fathomed he would be gone from her. The whole universe seemed to laugh at her for her naïveté. She had enough of everyone telling her to move on. No one could understand the pain she was going through, the pain of losing someone, knowing that they were never coming back. She needed to get away from all that. So she came here, to the place where it all happened. She somehow felt that if she saw the dolphins again, it would mean that everything was going to be ok. She walked to the same spot as before and sat down on the rocks and stared out into the sea, but the dolphins never came. Her heart felt heavy and her throat felt gagged as she realized that she needed to let go of him. She said a silent prayer for him and smiled at the sea. She knew he was going to be ok; she prayed that he be ok..wherever he was. And then Izzy turned around and walked away, hopeful still… for her miracle.

What Izzy didn't notice when she turned around were two dolphins, jumping up from the water, and popping back in with a splash...

Note - My second attempt at writing a story. All the characters and events are fictional and any resemblances to real life event is purely coincidental :)...LOL I always wanted to say that :D

Me...a Teacher :)

When I was a little girl, I used to role play as a teacher. It followed the same routine every time. I used to break a stick from our guava tree in the yard and use it as a cane. I draped myself in an old saree of my mother's. I played outside in the cement pavement of my home and used to hit the cement floor hard with my cane pretending them to be students who failed to do their home works. LOL. I swear sometimes the cane broke and splinters flew from it due to the impact of me hitting. Had the cane or the cement floor been an actual person, I would be charged for brutality!!!!

Now, years later, I got posted as a guest lecturer in a college. Never in my dream, had I thought I would become a teacher one day. I wanted to be many things while growing up... an FBI agent (due to intensive watching of real life crime programs on discovery channel), a Fashion designer (due to all the clothes I stitched for my Barbie :P), a zoo keeper (not the Indian one that throws the food into the cage without any care for the animal, but rather the American type that feed the chimpanzees with a feeding bottle and that play around the dolphin!!!!) etc. But never in my life had I thought I would be a TEACHER! Sure my mom wanted me to be a teacher and also my grandmother, who was a teacher also wanted me to follow her footsteps. But personally I was not interested to teach. Its funny how God leads you to places you never thought you will be. That is what happened to me exactly. I realized that I LOVE TEACHING!!

Even though my post is a temporary one, for that short span of time, I realized that I wanted to be a teacher for the rest of my life. Something about interacting with the students and imparting knowledge to them is a satisfying feeling. The job can never be boring for me (like those of IT people!!! Damn how do they sit staring at the computer creating programs all day long!!! That is not my field!!!).

There are a lot of things that I experienced for the first time. I am still getting used to the "teacher/Ma'am" call from students. I got my very own name board and bench (and I have decided to take the name board with me when I leave...I know your are thinking I am stealing but Its not stealing when my name is already on it!!!! DUH! :p). I realized that when we were students and we used to cheat on internal exams..the teachers saw everything but chose to be silent :O.. haha (it doesnt mean that I cheated on the exams OK!! :P). I have a new found respect and admiration for all my teachers now. I never understood the trouble they went through to teach us.

My time in the college is almost coming to an end. I will cherish the memories the students and staff gave me. They all were ONE of a kind!! Truly! I hope that I will be missed by them and that I have been successful in my task as a teacher. I know I will surely miss each and everyone of them. I thank God for giving me a wonderful opportunity to come to terms with what I wanted to become in the future. I hope I succeed in achieving the same :).